SoFi (aka Social Finance Inc.) Student Loan Review

Article updated to reflect the latest interest rate information. In the world of student loan consolidation and refinancing, SoFi is the company with the premium perks. These premium perks include interest rates as low as 2.795%, job placement resources, and $150 for new customers who sign up. While these perks are great, they do come with a catch. In order for SoFi to roll out the red carpet, they need to be certain that they will collect on the debt. As a result, qualifying for a SoFi loan isn't easy. The SoFi Advantages SoFi offers some of the lowest interest rates…

SoFi (aka Social Finance Inc.) Student Loan Review

SoFi (aka Social Finance Inc.) Student Loan Review

2017-07-12

Michael Lux

SoFi Student Loan Consolidation

Interest Rates

Co-Signer Release

Loan Terms

Repayment Length

90

Excellent

SoFi approval can be a pain in the neck, but if you have the credit score an income to get approved, SoFi is a great option.

Article updated to reflect the latest interest rate information.

In the world of student loan consolidation and refinancing, SoFi is the company with the premium perks. These premium perks include interest rates as low as 2.795%, job placement resources, and $150 for new customers who sign up. While these perks are great, they do come with a catch. In order for SoFi to roll out the red carpet, they need to be certain that they will collect on the debt. As a result, qualifying for a SoFi loan isn’t easy.

The SoFi Advantages

SoFi offers some of the lowest interest rates on the market and flexible repayment terms, but the advantages associated with SoFi go beyond the numbers.

Perhaps the biggest advantage is job placement program. SoFi actually hired the former Assistant Dean for Career Services at a top MBA school to lead its career services division. Their thinking seems to be that they will make more money by investing in borrowers who lose their job, rather than spending the money on collections.

SoFi also runs their customer support out of a California call center. Having the customer support team here in the United States doesn’t necessarily guarantee better service, but we do like to see them spending the extra money to make sure customers get the best treatment possible.

Borrower Beware

If you have the credit score and income to qualify for SoFi, it is a great option, but there is one warning that all borrowers need to carefully consider…

SoFi offers a service that some lenders do not provide. They are willing to consolidate federal loans with private loans. Though combining federal loans with private loans is a mistake for many, in some instances it is a good idea. The classic example would be high income earners with strong job security. The important thing for borrowers to realize is that the repayment plans and forgiveness programs of federal loans are eliminated upon private loan consolidation. Because there is no way to undo a consolidation it is critical to make a smart decision when weighing the federal perks vs. the lower interest rate on the private market.

If you are considering applying for consolidation with SoFi and want to make sure that your federal loans are not included, go to the federal student loan database. There you will be able to pull up a full list of your federal loans. If the loan is not on the list, you can be assured that it is a private loan.

How does SoFi work?

SoFi functions differently than the standard big bank approach to student loan consolidation and refinancing. SoFi was actually created by a group of Stanford business students who wanted to help other business students. Alumni invested in the program, and the funds were used to help recent grads lower their interest rates. The program started out just at Stanford, expanded to some other schools, included some other programs, and eventually became a nationwide program. This approach is commonly called crowd-sourcing or peer-to-peer lending.

One of SoFi’s goals is for former borrowers to go on to become lenders. Even if you have no interest in future investments, the fact that the company seeks an ongoing relationship with its customers is a huge positive. Most student loan borrowers know that the customer experience goes down hill quickly one the lender has your name on the dotted line. Working with a company that has an incentive to keep you happy is a major upgrade.

What loans does SoFi offer?

SoFi presently offers student loan consolidation and refinancing services, in addition to personal loans and mortgages. Borrowers specify the loans that they want consolidated or refinanced, SoFi pays them off, and then the borrower pays off their debt to SoFi. The goal behind consolidation and refinancing is to lower your monthly payments by qualifying for a lower interest rate or by spreading out the payments over a longer period of time. Doing both of these things can save you money over the short term and in the long run.

SoFi offers both fixed rate and variable interest rate loans. The fixed rate loans start at 3.350% and have a maximum possible rate of 6.990%. Borrowers can sign up for 5, 7, 10, 15, and 20 year repayment plans. The variable rate loans are presently as low as 2.795% to 6.720%, and they are tied to the LIBOR rate. The interest rate is capped at 8.95% or 9.95% depending upon the loans. These rates are among the very best on the market.

SoFi, like most legit lenders, does not charge any application fee, origination fee, or prepayment penalties.

SoFi reviews from actual customers…

When this article was originally published, we could only base our opinion on the black and white terms of the SoFi loans. Since that time, dozens of customers and would-be customers have taken the time to leave their thoughts in the comment section.

What we have learned is that the SoFi customer satisfaction seems to revolve around whether or not the application was approved. Because of the tough underwriting criteria, many people have stopped by to share their disappointment with their denial. As one user summed it up, “people with high FICOs and high incomes sail right through while people with more moderate FICOs and incomes don’t seem to have the same experience.”

SoFi reviews from around the web…

Most of the SoFi reviews from other experts have reached similar conclusions. NerdWallet proclaims that SoFi shines due to their low interest rates and job placement servicers. They take issue with the fact that SoFi loans only come with a one year forbearance if you lose your job.

The Better Business Bureau gave SoFi an A+ rating, but there were a number of user complaints about SoFi. Some of the complaints dealt with SoFi’s mortgage and personal finance loans. Most of the student loan consolidation complaints were filed by consumers unhappy with a rejection. However, we were able to find one reviewer who had issue with the unemployment forbearance. Evidently, SoFi requires borrowers to register with their career services before approving an unemployment forbearance.

In short, the SoFi reviews are largely positive, but like any financial company, they are not without their warts.

Should I apply for a SoFi loan?

The big concern with SoFi is getting past their credit check. If you get approved, VIP treatment awaits you, but it will require a good credit score and debt-to-income ratio.

hi michael, thanks for the article on sofi and your website in general. my school is not on the list of schools serviced by sofi. do you know of any similar programs like sofi that has more schools or no limitations on what schools you attended? thanks.

Great question Nick. Let me first say that the student loan tax interest deduction applies to federal AND private loans. SoFi loans do qualify for the student loan interest deduction, but like you said, it depends upon your individual situation.

According to SoFi, “SoFi loans are considered student loans for federal and state tax consideration. Note that you may or may not be eligible for interest deduction depending on your individual tax situation. You should consult your tax advisor for more information.”

jaybob

Hey Mike, I have over $68,000 in Federal Student Loans at 4.125%. I am currently paying $300.00 a month and the principal keeps growing. I can’t afford to pay any more than that so I’ll probably pay this until I die. Will my family be held responsible for this loan at that time?

S

if it makes you feel any better I have loans exceeding 200K at interest rates varying from 6 to 8.25%. I think after death you don’t have to pay, but if you are bankrupt you will still be liable for student loan debt. best of luck to you.

Jules22

I actually took out a life insurance policy to cover my loans. I’m 25, in good health.. and took out a 25 year term policy that covers more than enough for my loans (150K policy, I owe about 80K). I actually only pay like $200 a year for this.. Maybe you should look into that if you’re worried?

Brandon

No one has to pay your loans when you die. So this is a waste of money on your part.

Justbecause

Your kids or spouse do.. look it up. especially if its a federal loan.

Tsarkov19

Brandon is correct.

Jennifer Love Stringfellow

Depends on the loan and whether you are or were married when you take it out. Read your loan terms carefully! (I am an attorney).

Frank

if you make 120 payments without being late or missing one, you can have your federal student loans forgiven under Obama’s forgiveness act.

all_I_have_to say

is this true? I’ve never heard this before,,,,thats awesome if its true

Tsarkov19

BUT, you will receive a 1099 so the forgiven balance will be imputed to you as income, for which you will have to pay the income tax on it. If you have a massive balance, that could present an issue, because now you have an IRS debt/problem instead of a student loan debt/problem.

Cory

I refinanced my student loans through SoFi and have to say that the entire process was horrible. The application process ended up taking 3 months. Every time that they said something would take 3-4 days it took 3-4 weeks. Each time I called them I got a different story about what stage my application was in. When they claimed that everything was finalized I found out that they never sent checks to several of my old loan companies and I ended up paying payments to multiple companies for the same loans. I called them to rectify the situation and asked to speak to a manager. I spoke to a VP and she told me she would figure it out “right away” and call me right back. It has been 4 days and I still have not received a call. Pretty much sums up my interactions with this company. I feel like you couldn’t run a company this poorly if you tried.

Lil25

I’ve heard that SoFi is very easy compared to Darian Rowayton.

Enrique M. Rivera-Cortes

It was super easy! I had initial reservations based on Cory’s response but I still decided to go through with it. I am glad I did.

YappysDogTreats

About how long did it take for it to go through from the day you first applied?

I’ve heard of it taking as little as a couple weeks to as long as a month.

Enrique M. Rivera-Cortes

It took about two weeks from start to finish. I checked my loans with Mohela and Wells Fargo and they were paid on 12May. I started the process on 30Apr.

Lil25

What about refinancing federal graduate loans with a private company like SoFi? The interest rates on federal are insane! Yes, I know that you lose protections, but we hope to pay off our loans in less than 10 years, and the chances of us needing the federal protection is very slim.

Ryan

I applied for a refi through SoFi and they declined my application based solely on my credit score, which isn’t too abysmal at 680. Seems like they’re pretty picky.

Mark

I Just attempted to refi a 24,000 loan got denied. with a 722 credit score and 60,000 a year income I am 39 and been paing my Salliemae since 2011 even before it came due. They recommeded I get a co-signer HAHAHA. Nope I am an adult thank you

Linda

Same here!!! I just attempted to refinance $38K and got denied! I have the same credit score and make $72,500. I’ve never missed a loan payment and have been repaying my student loans for years. Not impressed with SoFi, especially when it states it is ‘ideal for those with good credit and are established.’

Angela

Same here…I’ve been paying my student loans for 8 years with not 1 missed payment and more than enough income to support the payments I’m currently making..why wouldn’t it support a lower payment with a lower interest rate?!? Not impressed SoFi.

nicole

same here..my wife was rejected and is in tears. she has 50k student loan, never missed a payment, great credit, and I’m an attorney. make 60k. they said income insufficient. wow. their payment would have been 200 less, and only 400 a month. I thought about cosigning, but glad I read this because I guess i must be a millionaire to help her!!

Dee

ME TOO!!! Refinancing a quarter of my loans (the portion with high interest) with a similar credit score and income as you Mark and they recommended a co-signer LOL. They said my debt to income ratio was too high, even though my payment would have been lower than I am paying now (every month on time)! Glad I am not the only one, I was really upset and thought I would never be able to refinance.

Rez

Just got off the phone with these guys… they refused to give you a quote over the phone and forced you into applying online. I had my credit pulled 3 weeks ago and had all my scores (all three over 750) and they still refused to assist me over phone. I started the application online and when I saw the offered products, it really wasn’t that impressive. So, I decided to withdraw my application. Before applying online, I called to ensure that their credit pull was a soft pull (I am in the process of purchasing a house) – they confirmed it “was” over the phone. I had to call back (twice) to request an application withdrawal, and this time I was told that the credit check was a hard pull. It even indicates that the credit check is a soft pull on their site (and I hope that truly is the case) .. anyhow, frustrating customer service. Below is their response regarding the credit check:

I confirmed that you did consent to a hard credit pull when submitting your application. We begin with a soft credit pull to determine the product, and finish that step with a hard credit pull to ensure the product matches your credit portfolio.

Thank you for your recent interest in refinancing your education loans with SoFi.

This email will confirm your recent request to withdraw your application for a SoFi Refinance loan.

Thank you again for your interest in SoFi. If you have any questions or concerns or would like to resume your application, please don’t hesitate to call us at 855.456.7634 or email us at [email protected].

I don’t recall ever consenting to a hard pull. Maybe I did not read the entire thing…but be aware and good luck for those of you who chose to go SoFi.

Ruhiyyih

I had a very similar experience to Rex below. They claim on the site that they only perform a soft pull of your credit and that it won’t affect your score. Well my credit monitoring was pinged and it turns out they performed a hard pull of my credit and it will be affected. Blatant false advertising, and a downright lie. I am also in the process of trying to purchase property in a very competitive market and certainly did not need this sort of aggravation. Given that others have experienced this problem I’m sure it’s making the rounds.

TED

SOFI only refinances if the person refinancing graduated from a college on their approved (limited) list of colleges. i.e. If you have a parent plus loan for your child, and (even though they graduated from) you didn’t graduate from one of their ‘approved colleges (or graduated from a foreign college), you cannot get refinanced !!

TMEA

I applied a few weeks ago and was just notified that I was approved, but I am very reluctant to accept because of how horribly this company seems to operate. I had to call multiple times before I spoke to someone, then the information I received was inaccurate. The numbers (interest rate I was offered and maximum lifetime amount I would pay) both went up from what I was given initially (after the credit pull) and today when the offer was made. Additionally, I applied for a fixed loan, it says fixed, but the interest rate listed is variable with the high end being higher than what I am currently paying. I recommend using caution when dealing with this company.

Andrew

Screw these guys. I have an 803 credit score and have made over $100k the past 3 years. They declined me for “insufficient income” in relation to the amount of my monthly repayment which would be around $560/mo. I guess you need to be a billionaire to deal with these bozos. Their underwriting policy is the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen.

Ellen

I have only federal loans at 6.5 %….is it wise to consolidate with Sofi?

Basically you are weighing the advantage of lower interest against the loss of the many great programs that only apply to federal loans. If you can save a bundle with Sofi and you are certain you won’t be taking advantage of any of the federal repayment plans or forgiveness programs it might be for the best. Otherwise, your best bet is probably to stick with federal loans.

Bi

Do NOT refinance your student loans with SOFI / Trustudent. If I could give them negative stars, I would. I refinanced and consolidated my 2 loans in to a new SOFI loan and TRU Student handles the loan servicing. One old loan was with Sallie Mae and the other one already with SOFI. The day my new loan was disbursed, Sallie Mae received the money from SOFI and paid off my loan in full and I NEVER paid even a penny on the Sallie Mae loan after that date. Now what happened with the loan that I had with SOFI. From the day the new loan was disbursed, it took 23!!! days for the old loan to be paid off!!!! Sallie Mae which is an external company received the fund on the same day of the new loan disbursement and paid off my loan but SOFI took 23 days to transfer the fund from the new loan to pay off the old loan within the SAME company. And guess what, during those 23 days, they accumulated interest on both my new loan and old loan while the old loan should have been already paid off. Also, they debited my bank account for my monthly charge on the old loan!!! How could that happen?? I was making payments on both loans simultaneously and both of them were accumulating interest!!! Expect DOUBLE interests for more than 20 days when going with SOFI! The fact that they say there is no fee for the loans, is NOT the truth. There is a fee and that’s the fee that YOU pay for their extremely slow processes and extremely unproductive working way. So I did call them for at least 12 times!!! SOFI asked me to call TRUStudent and TRU student referred me back to SOFI. Every agent gave me a different response and when I called back to follow up every time, the new agent was completely blank not knowing anything about my account history so every time I had to explain what happened to my case from scratch. Ultimately after talking to 10 agents or more, and not getting any response from any of them, I requested to talk to a manager. I called 3 more times in a 1 month period asking for a manager to call me back and every time I was promised that a manager will call me ASAP. 1 month since my last email and call and I’m still waiting for a manager to call me!!! The customer service is horrible and when you email them, what you get is an automated response or some generic answers!!! BTW, they never sign their emails with their names. Is that professional at all??? All they put under their emails is their name initials like A.B. so you’d never know who responded to your emails. I’ve been in the business world for 10 years and I’ve never seen people responding to emails with their initials as their signature! As a result of this refinancing, I’ve lost almost $300 because of paying interest on both old and new loans simultaneously while they were thinking how to handle the case. It’s really interesting that an external company receives the fund on the same exact date and pays off your loan but it takes 23 days for SOFI to transfer the fund from your new loan to pay off the old loan. I’m completely disappointed with their customer service. If you think there are no fees in refinancing loans with SOFI, think twice, because ultimately YOU are the one who has to pay for their extremely unproductive and slow work. I’m still waiting to hear back from a manager after calling them back and forth for 5 months!!!! The wait goes on…….

WIStoney

Great article. Glad I read the comments. This company did a target direct mailing campaign to members of the American Academy of Physician Assistants. I received a letter from SoFi, which states SoFi medical customers save x amount of money and if I refinance now I’ll get $500 from them. Looks good at first glance. This whole process has made me look into my loans (which I only seem to be chipping away at), but I have all federal loans, so the interest rate is not bad at 4.125%. Instead of refinancing, I chucked a little more cash towards my monthly payment and will continue to do so. Great Lakes (my loan servicer) doesn’t seem to offer any easily identified way to pay off the loans faster, so I will do it manually as I draw down other debt. Makes me not too happy that my national association sold the member mailing list to a company that hasn’t been fully vetted. I reviewed some other websites with similar complaints about SoFi. Thanks for everyone’s comments. I’m steering clear of this company.

Mike Andrews

I was denied for a $12,000 loan! I make $65,000 and have a 750 credit score. Stay away from this place! What a waste of time, and hard credit hit.

Svetlana

I just received an offer from sofi. There is a $5000.00 finance charge and I am not sure what that is exactly. Is it the cost of refinancing?

My understanding is that there should not be any fees associated with the loan. Is it possible that the finance charge is the amount you spend in interest over the life of the loan?

If it is any other sort of fee, please let me know and I will update the article accordingly.

Svetlana

So I found out that it is the total interest you will pay over the life of the loan.

jim

So 625 credit score making 46000/year 56k in loans. From the comments it sounds like I shouldn’t even bother right?

all_I_have_to say

thats my question…. I make about $50k a year and have double your loans,,,,no one replied to you so I’m curious as to know if you applied or not?

G-dub

I’d advise against it. My credit score is above 700, income just shy of $50k and private loans around $40k. I was denied for insufficient income despite getting the ‘pre-approved’ letter in the mail. Seems that they’re only helping those that are already in excellent financial shape.

Claire

Observe your income and FICO you would be better getting a personal loan from a credit union with low rate try your local bank they are the best for personal loans

Dan

Yeah I wouldn’t

Chloe

I have to say, I’m really surprised other commenters are advising against looking into SoFi. Forget whether or not you actually refinance with them, if you’re shopping around and other companies are pulling your credit score, why not try SoFi? They have the easiest application process (no faxing or mailing required, you can simply upload screenshots from your online checking account and email yourself a photo of your driver’s license… that’s what I did) and you never know if you’ll get approved and be able to save a couple thousand dollars with a lower interest rate.

Like I said, I applied, and I went through the whole process of refinancing with SoFi. I don’t have the best credit score (missed a payment here and there due to the loan company setting up direct debit, and mailing me letters to confirm, but not actually doing it or failing to change my requested due date, despite having a representative confirm the new date, and other headaches outside of my control) I was making $52,000 annually and had 1.5 times that in student loan debt. I was approved and I have been so happy that I took the time to look into SoFi; I cut my interest rate almost in half, I reduced my monthly payments without lengthening my loan, I removed a cosigner and improved their credit, and I get the perks of having SoFi career services and awesome customer service, oh and I’m no longer paying a company that treated me terribly.

TLDR: Even those of us with credit blemishes and modest incomes can get approved by SoFi, and the benefit to doing so is WORTH IT, so just try – it really can’t hurt.

Kelly Pry

My credit score is 755 and make 47k per year trying to refinance $34k in student debt. Pre-approved, submitted the application, read and signed the loan agreement, was told it would be funded in 4 days, then suddenly was denied due to insufficient income and asked for a consigner. Pathetically unethical. Don’t waste your time.

Johnny Heedless

After seeing some of the negative reviews on here, I was a little worried about the process. But, my refinancing was flawless. I had $60k balance left of consolidated subsidized loans with Sallie Mae (AKA Navient) at a ridiculous 8.5%. I was pay $1,000 a month to try and speed up that balance considering I was wasting nearly $5k a year in interest payments. So, I applied with SoFi. I followed all the instructions and send them any paperwork that was requested. It took about a week to get fully approved and another week for the funding to arrive at Navient. The two week process left $105 balance at Navient, which I promptly paid off. SoFi gave me 2.67% variable interest with a 10-year payoff — hopefully LIBOR will remain low.

While at 8.5%, I was aggressive about paying off my balance. Now, at 2.67%, I am much less concerned. I’ll probably just stick with the 10-year repayment schedule as long as LIBOR stays low and use the difference increase my savings in my kids’ 529s (I don’t want them to leave school with the loans I did). The refinancing will probably save me $20k over the life of the loan.

It couldn’t have been easier to go through the process. My good FICOs and income probably had a lot to do with my ease.

all_I_have_to say

I was getting worried after reading these reviews as well and you are the only one on here who gives this company any positive reviews? what hurdles did you experience? I’m asking because I’m interested in re-financing my loans which are currently a little north of $100k with a rate of 11%. I pay more than a $1,0000 a month and currently make around $60k yearly. My credit score is not that great but the funny thing is, the only thing on my credit is this stinking student loan and I’m really limited on what I can do. You didn’t experience anything annoying or any type of hurdles?

Johnny Heedless

I didn’t experience any any significant hurdles other than having to send them copies of my pay stubs and a an additional form of ID (a copy of my passport). That being said, my financial situation is a little better than yours. My FICOs hover near 800 and my salary is well into the six figures. Based on what I read here and on another review site, people with high FICOs and high incomes sail right through while people with more moderate FICOs and incomes don’t seem to have the same experience.

all_I_have_to say

” people with high FICOs and high incomes sail right through while people with more moderate FICOs and incomes don’t seem to have the same experience”,,,,,,why would you say that? that can’t possibly be true could it?! not in America!,,,,:,-) thanks for your input

Anya

Hello, I have read comments about the requirements. I was thinking of applying without a co-signer, and pretty sure that mine would be denied too. Have any of you found another company that was reasonable? I am looking at CU Student Loans? Thanks

Claire

Yes so the whole experience with sofi was not bad for me I refi a little over 65k my fico is upper 750+ I make more than 6 figures my debt is low, I think the people who are complaining obviously dint complete any financial course in school, do the math people you are trying to borrow double what you get paid I.e borrowing $100k only making 50k with fico scores in the low 700. Sorry to be blunt it’s not the fault of Sofi or any other financial institution it’s your fault for not reading over the fine print before signing.

DGOODELL

I filled out an application and then saved it to my file WITHOUT SUBMITTING! I read a ton of awful reviews and decided not to apply. I got back on the website and tried to delete my application- not possible. I left the application and that’s been 3 weeks ago. Today I received an email that I was denied for loan consolidation- THE ONE I NEVER APPLIED FOR!!!!!! They pulled my credit as well with out my knowledge or acceptance. When I called to delete my file she lady said that the computer sensed that there was enough information to go ahead and submit and they “only did a soft pull of credit”. WELL LADY- SHAME ON YOU. I never even applied for your horrible consolidation program. BEWARE OF THIS PROGRAM.

ShoppedAround

Don’t Expect to Get Their Lowest Advertised Rate!!!

Pro: Quick and easy application process with readily-available customer support to assist.

I completed the application process for a student-loan refinance with both SoFi and a competitor, Darian Rowayton Bank. I’m so glad that I applied with multiple lenders! DRB offered 3.5% for a 5-year term refinance (their lowest advertised rate). SoFi offered 4.74% for the same loan (even though they also advertise 3.5%). I decided to try requesting SoFi to match the competitor’s rate because SoFi had a NCAA sweepstakes that I wanted to enter. So I made the request on Mar 12. It took until Mar 26 and multiple back-and-forth emails before SoFi finally gave me their “best offer” which was 4.625%. No Thanks! I find it hard to believe there are many more qualified borrowers than myself and so I would guess that you probably won’t get whatever rate they are advertising either.

There aren’t many lenders to shop from but google “best banks to refinance student loans” to see a few alternatives to SoFi.

FeFist

My experience with sofi is similar to many ppl here. Terrible, unreasonable and waste of my time. Let’s me tell you… Sofi seems very unorganized and their underwriting policy is ridiculous! Don’t bother with sofi and don’t let them mess up your credit score for nothing (they did hard pull on credit check)!

My story: Filled out my application and upload all paperwork online on day 1. Live chat with a sofi rep who told me, my application could get reviewed within 4 business days if I called and talked to a rep. So I did. I then waited waited and waited. No single word from sofi at all after 2 whole weeks. I called, that rep told me one of the paystubs I uploaded was Outdated, they would need me to upload/ email a more recent one. I thought to myself, of course it now outdated … Coz the application review took way longer than expected and promised. Anyways, I immediately uploaded and emailed my paystub to that particular rep (as he offered on phone, so he could forward it to someone to review my case as soon as they got my paystub).

I was stupid to trust sofi the second time! Guess what? No word from sofi again, a week after I updated my paystub. If they hadn’t done credit check on me, I would have withdrawn my application at that time coz sofi seems very very unprofessional. Anyways, I called again. I asked why still no word ?!

That rep dared to tell me ……

Rep: “oh, it looked like we need your most recent paystub.” Me: “what?! Again?! I just uploaded and emailed xxx my paystub last week. Did you not see it on my profile?” Rep: “hm… if that is case, let me look into it…pls hold” (5 min later) Rep: “we did receive your paystubs last week. Somehow, it just didn’t reach to the underwriter. I will forward it now.” Me: “well. When I talked to xxx last week. He said he would make sure someone looked at it right away, so my application didn’t get delayed any longer. How did it still get overlooked? On the day I applied, I got promised review within 4 business days!” Rep: “I apologize. I will forward it to our underwriter now. You should hear from us in a week.”

One week later, I received an email from sofi, denied my application for insufficient income.

They promised 4 business day review. It turned out to be a month process! If I didn’t call them, they probably wouldn’t bother to call me, not even a courtesy call.

I made $150k a year. Full time employment since grad 3 years ago. Always paid my student loan on time, even often made extra payment. Credit score is 775. No mortgage. My student loan balance was $96k at that time.

Sofi, seriously?!

harry

I don’t understand some of the comments on here. I just refinanced with Sofi and reduced my interest rate from 7.5% to 4.5%. The process took about 3 weeks from start to finish. I had to upload a few documents to prove my salary but it was all fairly easy. Given my debt is $83,000, I will save $2500 in the first year alone. My income is six figures and my credit score is 785 so maybe that helps. It may not work for everyone but it worked for me!

Chloe

Really surprised by the negative comments on this article. I refinanced with SoFi in 2013 and I have loved every minute of it. I know what you’re thinking: “She’s a billionaire with barely any debt and a perfect credit score.” Well that couldn’t be further from the truth.

I responded directly to someone who was unsure whether or not they should even try to apply with SoFi but I felt like I should add my commentary to the general comments section so everyone could benefit from my experience.

My financial summary: Decent, not perfect credit score (650-700; I don’t remember exactly as it was two years ago)

Modest income ($52,000) Healthy debt (roughly $75,000)

My experience: I heard about SoFi from a friend and decided to check it out. At the time, I had 6 different loan servicers, and multiple loans (between two and 15 small/medium loans) with each of them. My interest rates varied from 6.8% to 9.75%. Some of my loans had just been sold (out of my control) and my payment date and direct debit got all messed up. I tried calling to change it and each representative said it would be taken care of and it never was. I was frustrated to say the least.

I checked out SoFi and I was impressed by their use of technology over paperwork. The application process was easy; I didn’t have to fax or mail anything, I simply emailed myself a photo of my driver’s license, took a screen shot of my online bank statement and a screenshot of my pay stub and uploaded it all to the SoFi website.

A representative called me a few days later, asked me to provide another document (I omitted something by mistake) and a few days after that I had an agreement waiting for me to review and sign. I took my time reviewing it to make sure I could make early payments without penalty (I can) and that I had a fixed interest rate (i do) and I signed – electronically, i think.

The Result: I cut my interest rate almost in half I reduced my monthly payments without lengthening my loan I removed a cosigner and improved their credit I get the perks of having SoFi career services and awesome customer service

In Summary: Even those of us with credit blemishes and modest incomes can get approved by SoFi, and the benefit to doing so is WORTH IT, so just try – it really can’t hurt.

Jennifer Love Stringfellow

Me too, they were awesome!

scott

avoid this business. they blatantly false advertise. they sent me an unsolicited mailer offering a loan. I was prequalified according to their mailer and was again prequalified after submitting my initial information. after the company obtained my initial information they then asked for an excessive amount of additional information including a copy of my passport, 2 years of tax returns and a utility bill only to turn me down for the loan they contacted me about and said I was prequalified for. additionally, they took way too long to confirm or deny the app and the rate they offered wasn’t even close to the rate quoted on the mailer they sent me. I would not recommend this company to anyone.

Judy

It seems to me SoFi is no different, even though they want to be seen as the “good guys” looking out for the “little guys”. My guess is they’re poor little rich kids who’s dads threw them some cash after graduation and said, “Here, son (or daughter), go do something with your life.” So they wanted to be looked at at something other than the 1% that they are. I have a credit score well over 800 and am being jerked around. I will not upload any more documentation. I think they’re just jerking me around until I give up, so they don’t have to deny me. Well, lucky them – I give up.

Kiah Dana

I recently applied because they sent me lots of mail which said I was pre-approved or pre-screened for a lower interest rate. This ended up being a lie, but regardless, I applied and after uploading some documents got approved to refinance my student loans. Their website is very nice and the whole application process was easy. Even talking with the customer service representative was very simple because you can chat live on their website. However, their representatives need to actually have some expertise about how their own loans work. I initially got a quote for an interest rate which was higher than what my current rate is for my direct loans. This did not appeal to me at all, so I used the chat window to talk with a representative, hoping that So-Fi could offer something that looked similar to their advertised rates. I have very good credit and am a teacher so my income is modest, but I have never missed a payment on my student loans, which, by the way, is higher than the payment plan they offered me. Anyways, the representative explained that the rate they offered was based on a soft pull. He made it seem like a very preliminary number, and then explained that a hard pull of my credit would provide them with more options for offering me rates. I agreed to let them do a hard pull, which approved me for the unwanted loan, but no other rate was ever offered to me. I asked another representative later on (Sarah) if So-Fi ever gives a new rate after the hard pull, and she said it is possible, but very unlikely. Although I was upset, I was glad that she at least told some truth. I felt that this whole process from the letter in my mailbox to the bad advice about a hard pull was quite misleading. I feel that I’ve wasted my time and part of my credit score on the hard pull, and I hope that writing this review prevents you from wasting yours. Student loan refinancing is a nice idea and there is no reason that it shouldn’t be a good deal for both parties involved. Apparently So-Fi has yet to find a good way to judge a person’s ability to repay a loan, as the federal government will now be getting all of the interest instead of them. My advice to So-Fi is to please train your service representatives better and to stop soliciting people by offering misleading information.

Selin

As so many of these reviews are about denials, I thought I’d share my review of being approved but still being disappointed. I have roughly $80k in student loans with about $70k at 6.5% and $10k at 7.5%, both 10 year loans. I make $50k with a 760 credit score and was hoping to lower my interest, as I’ll be able to pay it off in 10 years with ease. I was approved for a 20 year loan at 7.59%, 7.24% if I used auto-pay, which is evidently their maximum interest. I was frankly insulted at their proposal as they obviously have my current loan information and know their approved loan is worse than mine both in length of the loan and interest rate. I asked if I could include my husband’s income (which is twice mine) to improve my application and they said I could, although there is no guarantee it would help and they would have to re-process the request. I asked them how I can deny this loan so they would stop calling and emailing me daily and hope to hear back soon.

J Vans

Bad decision to go with this company…Ive got fairly good credit and about 40k in debt and Ive been waiting for a month to get an actual approval…The mean time im drowning waiting to hear from them. Horrible decision to go with this company. GO ELSEWHERE

Devon

Great Refi – Saves Me $$$!

I was initially hesitant to refi my student loans with SOFI given some of the bad reviews I saw at the time, but I took a chance and am very glad I did. I did my refi in May 2015 and the process was seamless. I had 6+ seperate loans ranging from 2.5% to 7% and I was able to refinance them all together for a 1.9% rate and much lower term with a slightly lower monthly payment. The process was easy – uploaded my docs online and the loan funded and my lenders were paid off quickly. The servicing has been great and its much nicer to have one loan and see the balance go down faster due to the lower rate and shorter term. To give some perspective I had over $100k in student loans between undergrad and grad school. I’ve paid them down to $50k and now with the refi I can finish them off much sooner. Its a great feeling.

I will not hesitate to consider SOFI for future loans. I know everyone’s situation is different, but SOFI was great for me. I also got a $100 bonus and welcome gift (Diptique candle) when my loan completed. I have also been invited to local events hosted by Sofi and attended a very posh, open bar free happy hour they hosted at a hot spot in my area. All the SOFI people I met there were very nice as well.

starling7

I just refinanced my student loans with SOFI and it has been a great experience. After reading some of the reviews here I expected to be denied due to my fairly modest income (although I do have excellent credit), but I was immediately pre-approved. It took a while to get through the document review phase since I initially didn’t have all the documents they requested, and they were pretty specific about what they would accept, but customer service was helpful throughout. My interest rate has been cut in half, and I couldn’t be happier. Actually, I’m so pleased with SOFI that I’m thinking of applying for a personal loan to pay off some credit card debt.

Jennifer Love Stringfellow

They are so awesome!

SR207

I just completed the process on my private student loans. I’m saving a few percentage points and I got a lower monthly payment. Their process was rigorous, but they looked more closely at the numbers than other lenders. For example, I had tried to get a Wells Fargo loan, and my amount of federal debt was prohibitive. However, Sofi took in documentation that I’m on an IBR with 10 year loan forgiveness. I think they take a better-rounded look at everything.

Christina Davis

I started off with over $30,000 in student loan debt with an 8.5 interest rate. With roughly an upper 600s credit score. Sofi refinanced my loan to be 6.5% for ten years saving me around $15,000. I refinanced the same loan with them again to get a lower rate and now I am at 5.99% for 7 years which shaves off another $3,000. My credit scores wasn’t any better when I applied for the second refinance but sofi looks at various factors in order to give you the best rates possible. Applying with sofi was the best decision I ever made in 2015. Plus the customer service is awesome.

Jennifer Love Stringfellow

Totally agree!

Lauren

Don’t waste a hard hit to your credit score. You will NOT get the low rates they advertise, even with good income and credit score. I think a lot of people just get talked in to a variable rate and think they’re getting a good deal (but, of course, interest rates are poised to be raised any day now).

thisannoysme

Wondering if its worth my time. Have $20k in loans at 4.865%. Current min monthly payment is $120 but usually I pay around $200-$500. Gross is now $195k/year – just doubled thanks to a new job. Credit score 805. Wanted to pay off my Mohela loan in two years and was hoping this would get me there faster . Right now about $70/month going to interest on Mohela and this annoys me.

jerry moor

Hello everyone my name is Jerry Moor, i am here to testify how i was scammed by various loan lenders from the internet, i was in need of a loan and i applied from various loan lenders from the internet, They asked me to pay some amount of money at different basis but i never get my loan, this was how i lost the sum of $3890, i was now in debt because i borrowed the money from a friend, one day a friend of mine introduce me to Mr Destiny Brown. he told me how he has helped him with loan at several cases without any delay, i was scared and never believe him, he urge me to trust him, this was how i as introduce to him through his email: [email protected] He told me he will offer me the loan that i only need to comply with them, i did as he told me and without any delay, i received my loan as he earlier promise, If you truly need a genuine loan please contact Mr Destiny Brown through his email: [email protected] . He is a registered reliable loan lender, who can help you with any amount of loan you need thanks to you all.

Tony

Going to give SoFi 5 stars. Excellent company from my experience with them. Tried consolidating with DRB starting December 4, 2015. I have solid income and excellent credit. After 6+ weeks of runaround from DRB that my loan was “with underwriting” (my mortgage didn’t take THAT long) I gave it a shot with SoFi. I applied on a Monday evening, by Tuesday morning at 10AM I was approved and signed all my paperwork through DocuSign. Now a mere 10 days later, all my loans have been paid off with my original lenders. Can’t recommend SoFi enough.

dlindsay2000

I was approved for a SoFi loan 17 days ago and they have yet to fund the loan. I have had email conversations with everyone including the CEO of the company regarding the delay and all I get is “it will be funded in a couple days” then I noticed on nerd wallet that “SoFi is reporting technical delays in funding their loans.” So my issue isn’t with the approval or non approval. As I said I was approved within 3 days of applying. But what good is that if SoFi doesn’t have the funds to actual hand over the cash!

Mark

SoFi- Was approved in 48 hours- great customer service, etc….but now they are experiencing a delay in their funding. My loan was supposed to fund within 10 business days but now states 30 days!! SoFi is growing too quickly and is unable to manage the growth.

Ty

I couldn’t agree more with the other negative reviews about SoFi’s poor application process. Their customer service will say one thing but never do it, or it will take months for things to happen with no status updates. I would not recommend SoFi to anyone.

In December of 2015 SoFi approved my loan application, but I later ended up canceling due to so many mistakes made. First they couldn’t verify my identity and had to mail a paper application. Then SoFi sent the wrong fund amount to my original provider Navient – and at the wrong time. SoFi was waiting on Navient to reduce my payoff amount by $7,000 per a negotiated lump-sum payoff.

Prior to my SoFi application AND after SoFi told me they would wait to mail a check until Navient updated the final reduced payoff amount. SoFi told me this twice and even called me to check on the status. Well, SoFi’s “computer” automatically mailed a full amount fund anyway, before Navient applied the reduced payoff term. Obviously Navient kept the extra money and rejected my reduced payoff term, costing me $7k in savings.

SoFi apologized and said they would cancel my application and reverse the payment. That took three months. SoFi also said they would temporarily put my new loan on hold while they rectified the situation – that never happened. I had overlapping duplicate payments through both SoFi and Navient for the same loan. I called SoFi to get help and the SoFi rep basically said “too bad” and claimed the previous reps told me wrong information.

I requested escalation to a supervisor and was told exactly this: “Sounds like we’ve been telling you what you want to hear, but haven’t been delivering results” – which is spot on. That supervisor went on to say she would personally handle my application mix-up and call me right back – which never happened. I was never able to contact that supervisor again.

Another annoying thing – you can’t call service reps directly who are familiar with your situation. Every time you call their customer service you have to verify 10 contact information questions with whoever answers before they will transfer you. On a few other occasions the rep would ask me to explain my situation instead of transferring, staring the whole process all over again. Very frustrating.

SoFi’s internal communication is non-existent. I referenced their internal support ticket numbers, but many reps “couldn’t pull up that system” to read my notes.

I had to call SoFi’s loan provider Mohela directly in order to get any kind of decent customer service and results. Mohela was able to temporarily suspend my duplicate payments until SoFi reversed the funds. What’s the point of using SoFi if they just punt you to Mohela anyway?

I’d rather get a refinance loan through the DMV. Stay away from SoFi.

mark harry

Hello,

Are you a business man or woman ?, Do you need a loan? You are interested in getting any kind of loan? or are you in any financial mess or do you need funds to start your own business? Do you need loan to settle your debt or pay off your bills or start a nice business? Do you have a low credit score and you are finding it difficult to obtain capital loan from banks / other local financial institutions? You need a loan or financing for any reason, such as:

if interested you are welcome to Mrs Sonia loan company we offer loan at 2% interest rate and we loan from the minimum of 1000$ to 1,000,0000.00$ if you are in need of getting a loan kindly contact us via email: [email protected]

Regards Mrs sonia mark

Matthew Austin

I left frustrated, because despite a FICO Score of 790, I apparently don’t earn a high enough income. I feel like this is a service catering to people who don’t really need the service in the first place. Trimming a couple percent off my loans and getting them under one roof would be really helpful to me, but alas, they kicked me right out. I wrote in and asked what the average debt to income looks like of approved customers, and received a cagey response saying they take into consideration a number of factors. Disappointed.

Tommy

Agreed. The low interest rates are given to high income earners with very little other debt.

Brittany

TERRIBLE AND A WASTE OF TIME!! Spent weeks retrieving my cosigners birth certificate to upload and W2s and after a two month process they deny me because they cannot include my cosigners current job because it is on top of earning a pension. On top of a great credit score I pay $981 a month now in student loans and I pay on time every month and uploaded documents to prove it, my payments with Sofi would have been $700 and something, yet they still wouldn’t approve me. This company is a WASTE OF TIME. DO NOT REFINANCE WITH THEM!!

john louis

Hello am called Michelle by name a citizen of the United State of America i want to testify of the good Loan Lender who showed light to me after been scammed by different Internet international lender, they all promise to give me a loan after making me pay a lot of fees which yield nothing and amounted to no positive result. kindly contact Mr Franklin Loans on ([email protected]) i believe other people are also giving testimony on this same honest lender.

Tommy

This company may work for some but not for someone like me. I currently make 70K in salary have a 700 or so Credit score but still over 40K in student loans at 6.5% with federal government. I looked into possibly refinancing with Sofi and they did approve me. At nearly 7.5%! Which is higher than I’m paying on my federal! Plus all or most of the protections that come with federal loans (I’ve been laid off twice in 5 years. Being able to go on a deferment/ forebearance helped immensley. I will never assume I’ll have a job ever again!) are gone when you refinance with a private bank, which Sofi is. Don’t fall for the “we’re just some young hip dudes trying to help!”. That may have been true at one time but they’ve become a gigantic bank looking to make alot of money. Sofi caters mainly to high earners with little or no other debt other than student loans. If you are someone like that (a doctor, lawyer, engineer, etc) then Sofi is maybe a good option for you. Someone like me? Not so much. My hope is that the government will pass a bill that allows student loan borrowers past and present to refinance through them. I hihgly doubt that happens anytime soon unfortunately. I really don’t think private bank refinancing is something I’m interested in as i think it’s a pig in a

Dave Shapiro

SoFi was so easy it made me scared that I missed something. Expressed interest in a personal loan at 9pm of each evening. So for responded the next day. I did all my paperwork on their mobile website and within 36 hours of my initial query I had the money in my account. Good, like I said, scarey good.

No. Loan forgiveness only applies to federal loans. If you consolidate your federal loans with SoFi, they become private loans and lose the federal perks including loan forgiveness. Going with SoFi means you commit to pay them off in full.

Ray

I just received a personal loan through SoFi. The entire process was smooth and moved along quickly. I applied on a Saturday and the money was deposited into my bank account on Thursday. I had to call twice and both times the individual who answered was professional and accommodating. I have been very happy with SoFi.

dru

I’ve refinanced my medical school loans and my spouse’s grad school loans x2 with SoFi. For us, each time the process was smoother, faster, and with a better final rate than competitors. Did make this note: My debt to income ratio at time of second refinance (2 years after the initial): 1.36 to 1. My spouse’s: 1 to 5 (she makes 5x her debt). But I’m a relatively high earner, my wife is an average middle class earner, and her application required me to cosign. Both credit scores >800 and we have 1 car loan, no other debt.

Alice

SoFi is terrible. They no longer provide student loans and now focus on refinance, and they have basically just given up on their student loan product. SoFi lost all record of my 15-yr student loan with them and refused to speak with me because they said I didn’t have an account with them. I had to file a formal complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in order for them to acknowledge that they lost my account.

SoFi represented to me that they had a standard in-school deferment option… but that was a lie. I submitted an in-school deferment request when I started grad school this fall and was told that not only do I have to continue paying interest on my loan while in school, but I also have to submit a new loan deferment request with the same information every 3 months. But that’s not even the issue because the max deferment period is CAPPED. This is nonsense.

I have a pretty good interest rate with SoFi, but I’m actively looking to refinance because I’d rather pay more with a more transparent and less predatory lender.

Berh

What they don’t tell you is that the average income of someone who qualifies for SoFi’s refinancing is $130,000. So yeah. Don’t bother unless you are already loaded.

Tim Fortin

My son attempted to refinance his student loans with me as a co-signer. In a nutshell we were denied because the idiots at SoFi didn’t understand how to read the financial reports from my businesses. They ask for all the right reports but can’t comprehend what they are looking at. I told my son to move on and deal with a real company that has a clue! SoFi was unimpressive in all ways….don’t waste your time!

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Michael Lux is the founder of the Student Loan Sherpa. He is an Indiana attorney who knows first hand how frustrating it is to deal with student loan servicers and massive bills. He created the site to help other student loan borrowers navigate the complicated world of student loans.

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